The new US owners of Chelsea Football Club have sacked head coach Thomas Tuchel after a poor start to the season, just over a year after he led the club to a championship title. Champions League.
Tuchel was sacked on Wednesday morning, hours after Chelsea suffered a humiliating defeat at the start of this year’s European season on Tuesday, losing 1-0 to Dinamo Zagreb.
“As the new ownership team reaches 100 days since taking over the club and as they continue to work hard to bring the club forward, the new owners believe it is the right time to do so. show this transition,” Chelsea said.
The sacking of Tuchel is a big bet for US financier Todd Boehly and private equity group Clearlake Capital after spearheading the £2.5 billion buyout of Chelsea from Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich in December. may.
Tuchel’s departure is Chelsea’s latest departure since Boehly and Clearlake bought the club, following the departures of former chairman Bruce Buck, former director Marina Granovskaia and technical adviser Petr Čech.
Chelsea is who spend the most in Europe during the summer transfer window, splashing out more than £250m on new players, bolstering the squad with England strikers Raheem Sterling and Wesley Fofana from Leicester City.
Tuchel, who previously managed Paris Saint-Germain, joined Chelsea in January 2021 and led the club to that year’s Champions League final, winning Europe’s most prestigious club competition by a billion 1-0 against Manchester City.
Under his leadership, Chelsea also won the Super Cup and Club World Cup. Those trophies mean he will “have a well-deserved place in Chelsea’s history”, the club said.
Tuchel was the last head coach appointed under Abramovich, who is known for his attitude towards managers. The German has also led Chelsea through the final few months of uncertainty over Abramovich’s ownership, a period during which the club were unable to sell new tickets and merchandise due to an asset freeze by the British government.
However, the new season has had a rough start. Chelsea have lost two of their opening six games, drawn one and won three. Refurbishment crews often look disjointed.
Tuchel’s disappointment became increasingly apparent. He was fined and given a one-match ban earlier this season after a dispute on the pitch with Tottenham Hotspur head coach Antonio Conte.
He was shown a yellow card in Tuesday’s game in Zagreb. In the press conference that followed, Tuchel gave a bleak assessment of the team.
“I really don’t know where this performance is coming from. He said there was a lack of determination, a lack of hunger and a lack of intensity to actually do the things that we needed to be at our peak. “We’re clearly not where we want to be.”
The current coaching staff will be responsible for coaching the men’s first team and preparing for matches. The club said it was proceeding “rapidly” to select a new head coach.
Bookies quickly identified Brighton head coach Graham Potter as the preferred man to replace Tuchel, with Mauricio Pochettino and Zinedine Zidane also involved.
